Chapter 62
Mother told me to call his bluff and refused to let me leave. I would have done it with or without her permission but then she ordered guards to trail me all day to ensure I didn’t go without her knowledge. She also increased security in and around the palace to also ensure that whoever this person was, they would not be able to take anyone else from the palace.
Something about it still didn’t sit right with me and I still felt worried. My nerves were frayed and I was on edge because a part of me felt that no matter the measures we put in place, something terrible was still going to happen. I couldn’t tell anyone how I truly felt about it because I didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news or the one who brings down everyone’s morale.
The city had been alerted to Audrey’s disappearance. I don’t know how it got out but I assume it was from one of the guards. Everyone was on edge waiting for a response or an announcement from the palace about it but they weren’t going to get it. I was in no mood or state of mind to address the general public and neither was my mother. When the council asked our opinion, we both agreed that it would be best if we just stayed silent and allowed things to play out.
The council members then brought up the issue of the coronation and that led to the conversation that we were having now. They were listing off the millions of reasons why it cannot be postponed. They started by saying that it had never happened before and I was tempted to inform them that no monarch had their child go missing days before coronation. I was growing bored and irritated the longer I listened to them drone on about the importance of keeping the coronation. It wasn’t until one of them mentioned that it would be an insult to have the Alpha’s come all this way and leave/without the ceremony that I snapped.
“Do you realize that my three year old daughter is missing?” I spat with so much venom that I saw him flinch. “My child is goddess knows where and your biggest problem is whether or not the ego of an Alpha can take it?”.
“Your highness, that isn’t-” he began but I cut him off.
“I am going to make one thing very clear to all of you and I would advice that you do well to listen,” I paused to make sure I had all their attention. “This coronation is not holding until I have my child in my arms. I don’t give a sh it how long it takes and I don’t care how anyone feels about it. The monarchy will not end if I suddenly decide to put my daughter over it.”
“Your highness,” another one muttered softly. “It is your duty as the future Queen to have the coronation. This won’t be the first time a child has gone missing. You were missing for eighteen years and we found you. If your daughter isn’t found after the coronation then we will invite a witch from the coven we are aligned to and she ca-)
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“Shut up,” I said and he bristled. “Maybe if you had allowed my mother look for me when she wanted I wouldn’t have been missing for eighteen years. But all that is in the past, I have said it once and I will say it again; nothing in this palace will hold until my daughter is safe. Is that clear?”
“Yes, your highness,” they all mumbled even though I knew they clearly didn’t agree.
I saw my mother looking at me with eyes full of pride and for the first time since Audrey went missing, felt an emotion that wasn’t anger or sadness. I gave her a small smile and stood to my feet. I wasn’t going to spend another minute in the council room just to make myself available for the elders to annoy.
I walked out of the council room and was shocked to see Ryker running towards me looking like a man possessed. My first thought was that he had found Audrey and I felt hope rise in me like a phoenix but when he came closer, I was able to see the expression on his face for the first time and my smile fell slightly.
“What’s wrong?” I asked once I was close enough to him and he opened his mouth to speak but then closed it and ran his fingers through his hair. “Ryker, talk to me.”
“Riley is gone.”
There was a ringing in my ear as my brain refused to process his words. I stared at him like a fish out of water and as soon as the words finally settled in my foggy brain, I moved. My legs moved of their own accord and led me towards the room that Riley was occupying. I muttered prayers under my breath hoping that it was all a misunderstanding because if it isn’t then it is my fault.
I got to the room and the door was slightly ajar. I pushed it open and there was no doubt that a struggle had taken place
there. The dresser was turned over and the bed was unmade, a lot of things were strewn on the floor and I even sighted a smearing of blood on one patch of the wall. My hands flew to my mouth as tears pri cked the back of my eyelids.
“I am so sorry,” were the only words that came out of my mouth over and over again.
There were so many things that I wanted to ask like when he last saw her and how it was possible considering the number of guards mother had placed in and around the castle. But all I could think was that if I had just gone with them like they had asked then Riley would have never been targeted. I just kept repeating the apology over again until I heard footsteps walk into the room and I saw mother.
I shot her an accusing look and she sent me one that clearly told me to stay silent. She walked into the room and took it in with furrowed brows. I wanted to know what was going on in her head but she didn’t voice the thoughts and instead, her expression shut down to neutral.
“You should have let me go,” I told her and she finally turned to me. “I knew I should have gone. They are going to hurt them both.”
“What are you talking about?” Ryker asked but I ignored him and faced my mother who just sighed deeply.
“Going would have changed nothing, Camilla,” she said in her usual all-knowing tone and I wanted to scream. “You are going to sit in this palace while we find the others. We have already lost two and we are not going to lose a third.”
“What are you talking about?”
I told Ryker about everything that happened last night and I expected him to be angry with me and tell me that it was my fault but instead, he ran his hands through his hair in frustration and started pacing the room.
“I’m so sorry,” I began and he turned to me with an incredulous look.
“Why are you apologizing?” he asked. “Your mother is right, going would not have been the option, you would have been killed. I’m not saying that taking Riley was a good option either but we have to figure something out.”
“I have a plan,” mother said suddenly and I turned to her. “I can’t tell you what it is but I will say that I need you to sit still for that plan to work.”
I started to protest but Ryker spoke first, “You have our word.”
After that moment, Ryker didn’t leave my side once. My mother disappeared to goddess knows where and I started to get really irritated with the number of people trailing me. Christine brought some food for me but I couldn’t be bothered to eat. anything. I just wanted my daughter and Riley back safely.
The longer the seconds ticked, the more agitated I got and by the time evening fell and I hadn’t seen mother, I decided to go looking for her. The guards trailed behind me quietly while Ryker walked by my side without saying a word although I could feel the weight of his eyes on me. I ignored it however as I checked mother’s study only to see that she wasn’t there. I started to grow suspicious but I checked her room next and when I didn’t see her, I knew what had happened.
“I need to go to my room, I announced then I turned to Ryker. “Would you like to come with me?”
He nodded and I grabbed his arm and led him up the stairs. I allowed him walk in first and then I locked the door behind us. and started looking for that secret exit I found a while back. When I found it behind the fireplace, I muttered a small thanks to the goddess and I pulled it open. Ryker was staring at me confused.
“Mother went to get them, don’t you realize?” I told him and his eyes widened. “I don’t know about you but I am not going to let her get hurt because of me.”
“Camilla,” he began but I cut him off.
“I can either do this with you or without you. I am simply telling you now because I don’t want you to worry. I will do it whether you agree with me or not.”
He stared at me like I was crazy but at the last minute he muttered some words under his breath and walked through the tunnels.
The tunnels led straight to the outside of the palace and I made sure to check that the coast was clear before stepping out. I knew it would only be a matter of time before they realized that I was gone and they would send people to find me. I counted on them finding the letter and finding us but until then, I made sure to shut off my mind link so I couldn’t be reached or tracked.
Ryker followed closely beside me as I snuck into the stables and stole two horses. It technically wasn’t stealing since they belonged to the monarchy and I was part of that so I just chose to think of it as borrowing. Ryker rode quietly behind me as I made my way towards the abandoned warehouse hoping that mother hadn’t gone too far.
When we got there, I knew it was empty. There were no signs of life and I was about to scream in frustration. We had lost our only lead and my mother in the span of one day. I wanted to pull out my hair when Ryker called my name. I turned to him and he pointed at something in the sand- horse and footprints.
He gestured for me to be silent and we quietly followed the tracks until we saw a cabin in the distance. We decided to ditch the horses so we wouldn’t be seen or heard and go on foot. My heart was beating fast in my chest but I hoped and prayed that they would be there.
“Do you think they’re in there?” I asked Ryker and he shrugged.
“We won’t know until we check.”
We got to the cabin and up close I realized it wasn’t as small as I thought. It was a little bungalow that had been worn out by the elements. We found an opened window and decided that it would be better for us to use that window instead of the front or back door. Ryker was adamant that he go in first and once he was safely in, he helped me get in.
We quietly moved around the cabin taking in the state. There were plates and empty wine/skins so we knew someone had been here recently. I heard murmuring and I moved in that direction even though Ryker tried to stop me.
I got to a massive room and I saw my mother, Riley and Audrey tied up in different chairs. Ryker and I wasted no time in rushing over to them to untie them. I had just managed to take the duct tape off Audrey’s mouth when she spoke with voice weak from exhaustion.
“Mummy behind you,”
I barely had time to look before I heard the door click shut behind me and a voice. “Now that the gang is complete, the party can begin.”
